Critic Reviews

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95

Game Vortex

Having watched the franchise land and played it with lots of love in the past, I'm glad to see such a worthy version released for the small console. GBA might eventually improve a game like this with graphics upgrades, but I'm hard pressed to imagine a substantial improvement in gameplay or mechanics. Really, for what I remember as the experience of playing Mr. McRae on the PlayStation, this recent GBA release captures the magic and brings hardcore rally racing...into your pocket! Now the question becomes: Is that a 'turn 2 left, care tree inside' in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?

Colin McRae Rally 2.0 is a fantastic racer and one that no rally fan should be without. It's hard to convey just how well Spellbook translated the series to the GBA and why it's so addictive. The ramping difficulty was a bit offsetting, but overall, this is one of the most enjoyable racers - handheld or otherwise - that I've played in a long time. Don't let this one pass you by; the lack of hype will definitely make this one a sleeper hit.

With hidden cars to unlock, fast paced stages and a battery back-up, Colin McRae 2.0 is easy to pick up and play for a few minutes or a few hours. This title is a must for any rally-racing fan and for anyone looking for something a little more realistic than a mascot filled kart racer.

It's going to be heated competition with all the rally games out or coming out for the Game Boy Advance this year, but you honestly will not be disappointed with the gameplay in Colin McRae Rally 2.0 on the GBA. Yes, the graphics on the surface are a bit on the low-quality side, but you just have to see it in action to appreciate everything that's going on in the game. The pros (gameplay modes, physics model, single cartridge multiplayer) definitely outweight the cons (bad menu, low-res textures), and to sneer at the game because of some low-quality screenshots would be doing an injustice to both the game itself, and your potential (and inevitable) enjoyment.

If you are looking for pretty graphics then you might want to check out any of the other dozen or so other racers available for your GBA, but if you want a realistic racing game with an above average physics engine then this is the game you want to be driving. With plenty of licensed cars and excellent track designs, Colin McRae Rally 2.0 is a virtual tour-de-force of rally racing action that will keep you (and your friends) busy for months to come.

Drawbacks aside, Colin McRae 2.0 offers a small glimpse of how intense rally racing can be as you plow through tracks full of gravel, snow, mud and dirt. While it's the first Colin McRae product to hit the Game Boy Advance, it feels like an established title that I hope we'll be seeing on a perennial basis. It's all about anticipation and using the two gas and brake pedals to get some connection going between the driver and machine to achieve a singular goal. That type of special relationship, where the human-machine duo work as one, is what driving is really all about. When you get down to the bottom of it all, rally racing is pretty fun. On the Game Boy Advance, your vehicle or ticket to that fun will most likely be Colin McRae 2.0.

Though hardware limitations prevent the game from packing quite the same punch as its console brethren, Colin McRae Rally 2.0 is still a perfect fit for those with a vested interest in having a little rally action on the go. And, for all the staunch console gamers out there, do consider that it might be just the thing to tide you over until Colin McRae Rally 3 comes out later this year.